Sanding device for automobiles



Aug. 27, 1940. R. c. KIRK 212:855

SANDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed March 17, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheel l Aug 27, 1940. R, c. KIRK 2,212,865

SANDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed March l7, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 `atente'c ug. 27, 1794() UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a sanding device for motor vehicles which may be operated under control of the driver to deposit l sand in front of the rear wheels of the vehicle to prevent skidding under icy or slippery conditions of the road surface.

Although sanding devices are commonly used on railway locomotives and street cars, and there are many prior patents proposing sanding devices for motor vehicles, such devices havenot gone into commercial use to any extent. 'I'he principal objection has been to the troubles which occur when rotatable or slidable valves are eml.. ployed to control the delivery of the sand. Such valves stick andfreeze up thereby disabling the sanding device when it is most required. Furthermore, it is diiicult to produce the proper flow of the sand by the action of gravity alone. An-

other problem has existed in the selection of a convenient location on the motor vehiclefor the receptacle or receptacles for the sand supply. The sand supply capacity should be large enough so as not to require frequent lling of sand, and must be disposed in an inconspicuous but accessi- 2'5 ble location. The present disclosure is believed to an endless belt on which the sand is smoothly deposited in an even layer from the source of supply.

A still further object of my invention resides in the placement of the sand supply in two large receptacles beneath the front mudguards at the rear of the front wheels and to convey the sand beneath the running boards on each side of the vehicle to delivery spouts which deposit the sand in front of the rear wheels.

Another object of my invention is to avoid clogging or freezing at the discharge by providing a bell shaped discharge member which acts as a splash guard and prevents clogging of the small opening at the upper end through which the sand flows from the casing of the device.

Further and additional objects'and advantages of my improvements will be more readily apparspace limitations of the particular car, and is` ent and more fully described in the following disclosure of a specific embodiment of my invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which: t y

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation of a motor vehicle showing the installation of the sanding device on one side of the vehicle.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the device.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the plane indicated 10 3 3 in Fig. 2. y

Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram of the electrical connections. t y

` Fig. 5`isa plan view partially in section of the operative parts and illustrating theinterior con- 15 struction.

Fig. 6 is a cross-section On the plane indicated 6-,6 in Fig'. land showing the front support.

Fig. 7 is a partial section on the plane indicated l-l in Fig. l and showing the rear sup- 2O port.

Fig. 8 is a detail'vertical section of a portion of the device showing the mounting of the idlerv disks at the discharge end; and,

Fig. 9 is aperspective view of the rear end of 25 the casing. t

Referring to Fig. 1, a motor vehicle I0 is diagrammatically illustrated vwhich includes front and rear wheels I2 and I4, front and rear mudguards i6A and I8, and a running board 2t. My 30 invention relates to the provision of meansunder vthe control of the operator for depositing sand adjacent to and in the path of travelof the Wheels, and in the specific embodiment illustrated the sand is deposited immediately in front of the rear wheels I Il. 'Iv In order to rprovidea source of supplyfor the sand having suiicient capacity to eliminate frequent replenishment, and to provide simple and eicient sand delivery, separate sanding devices are used for each of the rear-wheels and having independent sand supply receptacles on each side of the vehicle. Since the devices on-both sides of the vehicle are videntical kI have illustrated and shall describe only the construction on one side.

The essential parts ofthe sanding device, as shown 'in Fig. 1, are a' sand supply receptacle 22, a conveyor casing 24 and a discharge member 26. The sand'receptacle 22 should have a capacity` of from 30 to 50 pounds of sand depending on located beneath the front mudguard at the rear of the front wheel, and 'will be. concealed from view by the apron :of the fender' or mudguard. The casing 24 extends beneath the running board 2|) and is concealed thereby. The discharge member 26 is positioned within a few inches of the rear wheel to deposit the sand as required.

The sand receptacle is constructed from upper and lower cone-shaped parts 21 and 28 which are joined together at their large ends to form a doublel cone having a removable filling cap 3| at the top and a discharge opening 32 at the bottom. A receptacle of this shape will permit complete discharge of the sand and may be readily lled to the top so that there will be no waste space.

The box-shaped conveyor casing 24 is formed from a single strip of metal, thev longitudinal edges of which are folded over each other at the s rear side, as shown at 315, in Figs. 3 and 6. The casing provides top and bottom walls 36 and 38 and side Walls d. A T-shaped cut is formed in the top wall 36 of the casing at the rear end thereof, and the cut portions 42 of the top wall are bent up to form extensions of the side walls 4U, as shown in Fig. 9. Also at the rear end of the casing the bottom wall 38 is pressed downwardly to iorm the discharge trough Ml. The sand is delivered from the casing through a short nipple 46 having a relatively small discharge passage CRS. The discharge member 2B has a small mouth 5G at the upper end which ts on the nipple i6 and has a large downwardly-directed bell-shaped mouth 52 forming a splash guard and preventing clogging of the small passage 138 from material thrown up by the wheels. The front end of the casing 24 is closed by a cap 54 and the rear end by a cap 56. A cover 58 is also provided in engagement with the free edges of the extension side Walls 42,

The casing 24 is adapted to slidably receive the H-shaped frame 60 on which the conveyor belt is mounted. The cross-wall 52 of the frame 6D forms a partition between the upper sand passageway 64| and the lower chamber 66, and serves as a support for the upper run of the endless fabric conveyor belt 68. The belt 68 is driven by a toothed roller 'l0 at the rear end of the casing which is mounted in` the side plates 12. The plates l2 are soldered to the rear end of the H-shaped frame 69. At the front end the belt is guided by an idler roller 'Hl mounted in the side walls 'i5 of frame Sil. The lower run of the belt passes through guiding Vbrackets 18 which tip the belt, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, to dump any sand thereon into the bottom of the casing.

It will be noted that the axis of the driving roller l is above the axis of the idler roller '14, but the top run of the belt is horizontal up to a point just in front of the driving roller. The disk members 'l are idler members which hold the belt down at this point and direct its course up and over the driving roller. The disks 13 are mounted on a shaft '18, the ends of which are received in bearing slots 8B formed in the side plates l2, and spring members 82 are provided for urging the shaft 'i8 and disks 16 downwardly. The disks hold the belt against flanges or shelves 84 which are pressed in from the side plates 12. The driving roller 'I0 is driven from a motor 85 in motor box 83 through suitable speed reduction gears. The flanges or shelves 86 extend only part way across the casing and leave an opening 90 through which any sand which gets beneath the conveyor belt will be dumped into the bottom of the casing and be discharged along with the rest of the sand. At the front end a sealing strip S2 is provided to prevent forward passage of the sand as it is. delivered by gravity from the supply receptacle on to the belt. The ends of the rollers l0 and 14' are covered with felt 93 adapted to contact the side walls and prevent binding of the rollers from sand. The bearings for the shaft 'i8 are protected by felt in a similar manner.

Means may be provided for indicating that the supply receptacle requires lling with sand, and I have shown a pivoted arm 94 in the receptacle normally urged to swing upward by a springiii. The arm 93 has a contact finger 98 adapted to engage an insulated Contact button |053 when raised, but is normally held down by the sand in the receptacle, as shown in Fig. 2.

The entire sanding device is assembled as a unit and mounted upon a motor vehicle, as shown in Fig. l, in which position it is supported at the iront and rear ends as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. In Fig. 7 the end cap 53 is reinforced by a pair of inner and outer disk members |02 and |04, and a stud bolt |815 is attached thereto. The

stud member lil has an eye-shaped portion H184 which is received in a bracket |||l fastened by bolts i2 to the lower end of the rear fender ||4 or other suitable part -of the chassis of the motor vehicle. The support illustrated provides for a universal mounting of the rear end of the casing of the sanding device upon the motor vehicle, whereby the front end may be swung down and outwardly to permit lling of the sand receptacle. It is, of course, to be understood that, if desired, the sanding device may be permanently mounted and provision made for i'llling the sand receptacle without displacing it from its positio-n.

The front end of vthe casing of the sanding device is mounted as illustrated in Fig. 6, in which H6 is a suitable ubart of the chassis on which is mounted the bracket H8 having a hinge member |20 secured thereto for hinging a bottom plate or strap |22 which is fastened by the bolt |24 and wing nut E26 to the out-turned lip |28 of the bracket IIB. It will be obvious that the rear end of the vcasing is rst mounted on the vehicle as illustrated in Fig. l and then the front part of the casing is swung up to position and the strap l 22 fastened by the wing nut |26, thereby holding the casing rmly in position.

The electrical connections for operating the sanding device are diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 4, in which the battery |30 is grounded at one side, as at 32, and has a lead |34 to the manually operable switch member |36 which is suitably mounted on the dashboard of the vehicle, and a lead |38 extends from the switch to the motor-8.6 which is grounded as indicated at Mil. The sanding device may also be automatically operated by the brake pedal |42 which has a contact iM connected to the battery through leads I-ll and |33. The contact |44 is adapted to engage a contact Hi8 connected by the lead |59 to a manually operable switch |52 which in turn is connected by the leads l5@ and |38 to the motor. l By .closing the switch |52, the sanding device will beautomatically operated whenever the brake pedal is depressed. Also provided, is an indicating light |56 connected to one side of the battery and by a lead |58 to the contact button lllii'inside the lsand receptacle. The sand receptacle is grounded as at |60. When the arm @il is released Vby emptying of the sand from the receptacle the vfinger S8 will engage the contact lili) andcomplete .the circuit to light the light |56.

The sandreceptacle is lled rwith clean, .dry sand which-will pourlout of the receptacle into the conveyor .casing and be deposited `upon the 75 has been deposited on. the belt it will form a Ynatural seal and prevent further delivery until some of the sand has been taken away by movement oi `the conveyor belt. When the motor is actuated the belt will be placed in operation and the sand will pass through the casing beneath the running board of the vehicle. At the rear end the sand will pile up adjacent the disk members 'i6 and form a natural seal which will prevent delivery of the sand except while the conveyor belt is being actuated. The movement of the conveyor belt will draw some of the sand upward and over the driving roller. As the sand drops 01T the conveyor belt at this point it is free to discharge through the small opening at the bottom of the casing and through the bell shaped discharge member or splash guard. The rise of the sand at the discharge end of the belt should be sunicient so that a natural seal will be formed by the sand even when the motor vehicle is going uphill and prevent any flow of the sand out of the device when the belt is not operating. Since the casing is entirely closed except for the small discharge opening there is no possibility of water getting into the sand and freezing, and the large mouth of the bell-shaped discharge member will prevent water splashing up and freezing at the discharge opening.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be resorted to in the practice of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A sanding device for motor vehicles comprising a sand receptacle located beneath a front mudguard of the vehicle at the rear oi a front wheel, an endless belt for conveying sand from said receptacle beneath a running board of the vehicle, and means for discharging the sand from the conveyor belt in iront of a rear wheel of the vehicle.

2. In a sanding device for motor vehicles, a sand receptacle located beneath the front mudguard of the vehicle at the rear of a front wheel, a box-shaped passageway extending from said receptacle beneath a running board of the vehicle to a point adjacent the wheel, an endless conveyor belt in said passageway for conveying the sand from said receptacle, and means for directing the discharge of the sand from said conveyor belt to fall in iront of a rear wheel of the vehicle.

3. In a sanding device for motor vehicles, an endless fabric conveyor belt, an idler roller at one end and a driving roller at the other end of the belt, means adjacent the driving roller and bearing upon the top run of the belt to cause said belt to move upwardly towards the driving roller, means for depositing sand by gravity upon the upper run of the belt adjacent the idler roller, means for actuating the driving roller to move the belt and convey the sand towards the driving end of the belt, and means for directing the discharge of the sand as it is delivered from the conveyor belt.

4. In a sanding device for motor vehicles, an endless conveyor belt, laterally spaced rollers for supporting and driving the belt, one of said rollers being positioned a short distance above the level of the other roller, means for depositing sand upon the upper run of the belt at the lower end thereof whereby the sand is conveyed towards the higher end, and roller disk members bearing upon the upper run of the belt near the delivery end whereby the sand is moved upwardly immediately Yprior to its delivery 'as the belt moves over the higher roller and delivery or sand is prevented except when the belt is in operation.

5. In a sanding device for motor' vehicles, a casing through which the sand is laterally conveyed, a conveyor belt in said casing, means for depositing sand upon the upper run of said belt at one end of said casing, and means for delivering sand from said belt at the other end of said casing, a partition wall in said casing forming a support for the upper run of said belt, said partition having an opening therein adjacent the delivery end for dumping sand that may get beneath the belt and means for twisting the lower run of the belt to dump sand from the inner side of the belt.

6. In a sanding device for motor vehicles, a casing having a partition wall throughout a considerable portion of the length thereof forming upper and lower compartments, a driving roller at one end of the partition wall, an idler roller at the opposite end, an endless conveyor belt supported by said rollers, the upper run of said belt resting on'the partition Wall, means for deposit-v ing sand upon said belt'at one end of the casing, valveless means for controlling and directing the discharge of sand from said belt at the other end of said casing and said casing having a discharge opening leading from the lower compartment through which the sand is delivered.

7. In a sanding` device for motor vehicles, a casing securedbeneath a running board of the Vehicle extending `forwardly beyond the front end of the running board into the space beneath the front mudguard and terminating at its rear end adjacent the rear mudguard, a conveyor in said casing extending substantially the entire length thereof, a motor at the rear end of the casing for operating the conveyor to move sand rearwardly through said casing, a sand supply receptacle mounted on the front end of the casing in the space beneath the front mudguard and from which sand is delievered by gravity to the front end of the conveyor and said casing having a discharge opening at its rear end through which the sand is delivered during operation of the conveyor in front of the rear wheel.

8. In a sanding device for motor vehicles, a

casing secured beneath a running board of the vehicle extending forwardly beyond the front end of the running board into the space beneath the front mudguard and terminating at its rear end adjacent the rear mudguard, a conveyor in said casing extending substantially the entire length thereof, a motor at one end of said casing for operating the conveyor to move'sand rearwardly through said casing, a sand supply receptacle mounted on the front end of the casing in the space beneath the front mudguard from which sand is delivered by gravity to the front end of the conveyor and said casinghaving an unobstructed discharge opening at its rear end through which the sand is delivered in front of the rear wheel during operation of the conveyor.

9. A sanding device for a motor vehicle assembled as a unit and adapted to be readily installed, comprising a relatively long casing, a conveyor in said casing extending substantially the entire length thereof, a motor mounted on the casing at one end thereof for operating the conveyor to move the sand rearwardly through said casing, a sand supply receptacle mounted on the iront end of the casing from which sand is delivered by gravity to the conveyor in'said casing, said casing having an unobstructed discharge forwardly beyond said running` board whereby the sand receptacle is received in the space beneath the front mudguard, said mounting means permitting dropping of the front end of the casing when said front end holding means is released T5 to permit filling of the sand receptacle.

ROYDEN C. KIRK... 

